Hetalia's Halloween Nightmare
by XionAmmy
Summary: HNBC Rewrite. Alfred just wants to spend some time with his brother; can the world ever just be straightforward about anything? Rated for language and my own paranoia, as well as to match HNBC's rating.
1. This Is Halloween

**Happy Halloween, everyone!**

**I decided to randomly write something to celebrate two years ago, on October 31****st****, 2010. It was posted on the same day.**

**And thus, "Hetalia's Nightmare Before Christmas" was born. The story reached twelve chapters (not including the discontinuation notice), one piece of fanart, and 56 reviews before a severe case of writer's block put it on a year-long hiatus; further frustrations with chapter thirteen and utter disgust for my (by then one and a half years old) work led me to officially discontinue the story on Friday, April 13****th****, 2012. Because I wanted to keep certain promises, I decided to rework the story I had written and re-post it on October 31****st****, 2012.**

**The original version is still on my profile and will remain there for the foreseeable future; I can't bring myself to take it down.**

**Just like before, this chapter is a songfic for "This is Halloween" from **_**The Nightmare Before Christmas**_**, one of my favorite movies and a film that works well for both Halloween **_**and**_** Christmas.**

**Actually, this story was originally supposed to be a oneshot... I suppose it could've been one, but I kinda got carried away... heh heh heh... oops... -.-' Oh, well. It was my most popular story, and one I truly enjoyed writing.**

**Enjoy~!**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Hetalia, the characters, the concept of Halloween, Nightmare Before Christmas, or the song "This is Halloween" which was written by Danny Elfman.**

_**This story is dedicated to HatsuNeru (now Hatsu Yukiya), a lovely artist/authoress and someone I consider a dear friend, and Kaito X Len – Banana Split, another dear friend who is also the Beta for this story and several others (including the original).**_

_Boys and girls of every age,_  
_Wouldn't you like to see something strange?_

Shivering slightly in the chilly autumn wind, Canada walked down the darkened road. Why did America like this holiday so much? It was just so creepy…

_Come with us and you will see,  
This our town of Halloween~_

Pumpkins with faces carved in them, emitting a strange glow from within, sat on almost every porch. Many of the porches, regardless of whether they had Jack-o-lanterns or not, were decorated with fake spider webs, fake blood, and pretend crime scenes, among other things.

_This is Halloween, This is Halloween!_

Canada shuddered once more as he passed a particularly gruesome house. This one had a fake graveyard, complete with tombstones bearing creepy epitaphs and a fake corpse hanging from one tree, a noose around its neck.

_Pumpkins scream in the dead of night!_

As he walked past the sidewalk leading to the front door, a high-pitched cackle rang out. He jumped before realizing the screech was only a motion-activated decoration.

_This is Halloween! Ev'rybody make a scene!  
Trick-or-Treat 'til the neighbor's gonna die of fright!  
It's our town! Everybody scream  
In this town of Halloween…_

Canada picked up his pace, eyes darting about nervously as he searched for something—anything—familiar. Where was America's house? Would he even recognize it, festooned as it would be in Halloween décor?

_I am the one hiding under your bed,  
Teeth ground sharp and eyes glowing red!_

_I am the one hiding under your stairs,  
Fingers like snakes and spiders in my hair!_

Why couldn't he stop thinking about those stories of monsters France and England used to tell him when he was a child? They weren't helping to calm him down!

_This is Halloween, This is Halloween!  
Halloween, Halloween, Halloween, Halloween!_

Canada swallowed nervously, trying desperately not to panic.

_In this town we call home,  
Everyone hail to the pumpkin song!_

_In this town, don't we love it now?  
Everybody's waiting for the next surprise!_

Trying to find a less frightening neighborhood, Canada hurriedly turned the corner.

'_Round that corner, man,  
Hiding in the trash can,  
Something's waiting now to pounce,  
And how you'll SCREAM!_

As he rounded the corner, Canada came face-to-face with another person. Unfortunately for the jittery blond, the adult was wearing a Jason costume from the Friday the Thirteenth movies, complete with the hockey mask and the bloodstained machete.

Canada gave a small shriek of fear as he raced off, leaving behind a very confused man. The mystery man removed his mask, revealing America's sunny blond hair and sky-blue eyes.

_This is Halloween! Red and black and slimy green!  
Aren't you scared?_

America stared after Canada, the rusty gears in his head slowly turning. That explained why his normally punctual brother was late… the poor boy must've been spooked by all the decorations. He totally should've expected that, maybe even walked with him.

What a stupid mistake. He couldn't be a hero if he kept making mistakes like _that_!

_Well, that's just fine!  
Say it once, say it twice!  
Take a chance and roll the dice!  
Ride with the moon in the dead of night!_

Heart racing, Canada ran as fast as his poor legs could carry him to the area he vaguely remembered America's house being in. When a sudden scream filled the air, he yelped, unaware that he'd been startled by yet another motion-activated sound effect.

_Everybody scream! Everybody SCREAM!  
In our town of Halloween…_

_I am the clown with the tear-away face,  
Here in a flash and gone without a trace!_

Canada shrieked as the image of a clown appeared on someone's garage door, ripped off its face, and promptly vanished in a puff of smoke.

This was why he hated Halloween!

Somewhere behind him, he could've sworn he heard leaves crunching. He jumped, startled.

_I am the "who" when you call "who's there?"  
I am the wind blowing through your hair!_

"Who's there?" he called nervously. However, only silence replied, a sudden gust of wind ruffling his hair.

Looking up with a shaky breath, he gazed at the full moon hanging in the sky. Somehow, it managed to be both creepy and beautiful at the same time.

_I am the shadow on the moon at night,  
Filling your dreams to the brim with fright!_

He shuddered slightly and continued walking, the moon's silent silver glow offering comfort to the jittery blond.

_This is Halloween, This is Halloween!  
Halloween, Halloween, Halloween, Halloween!_

Canada still didn't like Halloween, but now he could seek some solace in the moon, at least.

_In this town we call home,  
Everyone hail to the pumpkin song!_

_Tender lumplings everywhere,  
Life's no fun without a good scare!_

_That's our job, but we're not mean,  
In this town of Halloween…_

Canada smiled as children wearing "cute-ified" monster costumes raced past him, laughing. Maybe it wasn't so bad after all…

_In this town, don't we love it now?  
Everybody's waiting for the next surprise!_

He finally arrived at America's house, sighing in relief. He didn't get completely, totally, and hopelessly lost.

_Skeleton Jack might catch you in the back and  
Scream like a banshee, make you jump out of your skin!_

Suddenly, something grabbed his shoulders from behind.

"BOO!" a familiar voice shouted.

Canada yelped, wriggling away from the unexpected contact. Whipping around, he found himself face-to-face with the guy dressed like Jason once again.

_This is Halloween, everybody scream!  
Won't ya please make way for a very special guy?_

This time, America pulled off his mask before Canada got TOO spooked and ran off again. He smirked at the surprised and frightened expression on Canada's delicate facial features; it was almost cute enough to make him feel bad for scaring him.

Almost.

"Happy Halloween, Mattie!" he cried, pulling the Canadian in for a one-armed hug.

_Our man Jack is King of the Pumpkin patch  
Everyone hail to the pumpkin king now!  
This is Halloween, This is Halloween!  
Halloween, Halloween, Halloween, Halloween!_

Canada gave his brother a shaky smile. He knew America was going to dress up as a character from one of his country's popular horror movies series, so he honestly should have expected a Jason costume.

He shoved his glasses back up his nose nervously. "S-so, what are we gonna do?" he inquired, trying to hide his fear.

"I was thinking we could watch Nightmare Before Christmas, since it's technically a Halloween movie and all, and just hand out candy to trick-or-treaters." America replied. Nightmare Before Christmas wasn't _too_ scary of a movie; America was certain even his very edgy Canadian of a brother could handle _that_ particular movie.

_In this town we call home,  
Everyone hail to the pumpkin song._

Canada smiled up at his brother. "That sounds like a great idea, Alfred."

_La la la lala la la la lala la la la lala la lala la, whee! (laughter)._

**A/N: So, there you have it. The reworked first chapter of "Hetalia's Nightmare Before Christmas"!**

**Here's the fanart for the original, the link to which I never had the chance to post in the original:**

** HatsuNeru . deviantart art/Japan-vs-Yasuo- 256953299**

**Be sure to remove all the spaces. Despite what she says or believes about her work, I still think Hatsu-san did a great job!**

**Also: I know that some people, when they choose to rework or rewrite a story, they break it down to the initial idea and rebuild it brick by painstaking brick, ripping everything they initially had to shreds in the process. Sometimes it works out; sometimes, it leads to a story that neither author nor reader is truly happy with. Since, like I stated before, this was my most popular story—there is not a single other that has garnered so many reviews (in fact, I am fairly sure that all other stories combined could not have the same review count or even a number **_**close**_** to it), and the story still gets follows and favorites from time to time—I have decided not to change much, if anything, from the original plot (aside from, perhaps, a few minor details and a teensy bit of the original mood). All of you who fell in love with the original, you can expect to see the new-and-improved version of it here!**

**All of that aside… I want to tell you about a certain magical text box that can keep me ahead of this longer, which leads to more regular posts. See it? It's right below this~! Yes, it's the text box where you can write reviews for this chapter!**

**So please, drop a review. Remind us that we **_**are**_** loved and there **_**are**_** people out there that enjoy our work~!**


	2. Jack's Lament

**Chapter two! It's here! It's here!**

**Like the original, this chapter features the lyrics to "Jack's Lament." It's more or less how I interpret the song; however, it is not based on the scene from the movie**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own ****The Nightmare Before Christmas****, I don't own Hetalia, I don't own the characters of either, and I don't own the soundtrack of ****The Nightmare Before Christmas****. Danny Elfman wrote the songs, I don't remember who made Hetalia, Tim Burton wrote the original poem "The Nightmare Before Christmas" and directed the Disney movie based on the poem.**

**Enjoy~!**

Jack walked away from the center of Halloween Town, cheers and jubilated cries echoing through the nearly deserted streets. All the other citizens were still celebrating this year's festivities; it had been another frightening Halloween, one that everyone had enjoyed. Jack had fun, of course, but he still felt as if something was missing. His aimless steps lead him to the graveyard—or, more specifically, to the moonlit hill in the center.

_There are few who deny  
At what I do I am the best,  
For my talents are renowned far and wide._

Jack sighed, plopping down at the very top of the hill. He'd begun to get sick of all the praise he received. Sometimes it's just too much!

_When it comes to surprises in the moonlit light,  
I excel without ever even trying!_

He hardly even had to TRY to scare people on any day of the year—and it was even easier on Halloween! It was as if he'd gotten too good at his job over the years.

_With the slightest little effort of my ghost-like charms,  
I have seen grown men give out a shriek!_

_With a wave of my hand and a well-placed moan,  
I have swept the very bravest off their feet!_

Did he really even have to try? It was too easy! Way too easy! A gesture here, a frightening cry there, and even the bravest of men screamed like terrified little girls! Would things ever change?

Even his failed attempt at Christmas had frightened people, and Christmas had to be one of the LEAST frightening holidays in _existence_!

_Yet year after year, it's the same routine,  
And I grow so weary of the sound of screams,  
And I, Jack, the Pumpkin King,  
Have grown so tired of the same old thing…_

Jack sighed, wrapping one long, bony arm around his equally lengthy legs.

Zero, his phantom pet, floated over, wondering why Jack seemed so down. Halloween used to be Jack's all-time favorite day of year! Why would he be sitting here sadly, all alone, instead of being out celebrating his success with his peers?

_Oh somewhere deep inside of these bones,  
An emptiness began to grow._

_There's something out there, far from my home,  
A longing that I've never known…_

'Is this all there really is in life?' Jack wondered in despair, unwittingly ignoring his pet. Was he doomed to frighten people forever? Was there nothing else out there for him?

_I'm a master of fright, and a demon of light,  
And I'll scare you right out of your pants._

_To a guy in Kentucky, I'm Mister Unlucky,  
And I'm known throughout England and France._

He sighed quietly, thoughts turning to the various stories told about him in the mortal world. He had always been well known as a terrifying character; did anyone actually know him for anything else?

_And since I am dead, I can take off my head  
To recite Shakespearean quotations!_

Zero barked at him, begging for Jack to play with him. Shocked out of his reverie, it took Jack a few moments to readjust to reality and acknowledge his closest friend.

"Oh, all right," Jack sighed. He tugged out a rib bone, waving it halfheartedly in front of Zero's nose. "Here you go, boy!" he said unenthusiastically, throwing the bone for Zero to chase.

_No animal, no man  
Can scream like I can,  
With the fury of my recitation._

He watched Zero flutter about, looking for the bone. Once he'd found it, the ghostly canine let out a few barks muffled by the curved white object in his mouth before beginning the long journey back to Jack.

Jack, however, had returned to contemplation.

_But who here would ever understand  
That the Pumpkin King with the skeleton grin  
Would tire of his crown? If they only understood…_

No one seemed to understand. He hated his job.

…

Okay, he didn't really _hate_ it; by the same token, however, he wasn't happy with what he did, either. He had grown tired of frightening people as the years went by.

_He'd give it all up, if he only could…_

'If only, even just once, I could spread cheer, not fear. If, even just once, I wasn't the spook in the closet, but the hero…' he mused sadly. He was so distracted that it took him several long moments to notice right away that Zero had returned with his rib clamped in translucent teeth.

_Oh there's an empty place in my bones,  
That calls out for something unknown._

He slowly stood, returning the bone to its proper place in his ribcage, and patted Zero's head, before the two slowly walked back to Jack's house.

"What's missing?" he murmured sadly, pausing at the elaborate iron gate of the graveyard. "I'm constantly praised by people, every year. Why do I still feel like something's missing?"

_The fame and praise come year after year,  
Does nothing for these empty tears._

**A/N: I never gave anyone the chance to tell me not to keep going when I wrote HNBC. This was posted before the night ended… that, or early the following morning. I didn't even get a review until after I had posted this chapter.**

**Even now, I have no idea how long this is going to be. I'll try not to make it too long, though (not that it'll be very short... ¬.¬').**

**I will try to update every Wednesday, but I can make no promises—I have a lot of schoolwork to get done each day, and may not be able to edit a chapter and post it on time. I'm aiming for weekly updates, but be forewarned—it may be more like once every two weeks.**


	3. Evil Schemes

**I AM SO, SO, SO SORRY. I totally meant to post this yesterday. I got distracted…**

**You may notice that I changed the way I was spelling Canada's human name. That's because I hadn't heard of this way when I wrote this; once I found it, I found that I preferred it—it looks nicer, in my opinion.**

**That aside, there's not much that changed in this chapter… thank goodness. It was tiring enough as it was.**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Hetalia, Disney, or Nightmare Before Christmas. I don't think I'll ever be able to, either… TT^TT**

**Here's a list of all the characters I have included so far. Part of the reason why I'll be including this for each chapter from now on is because I really hate it when I'm reading a story and have no idea who someone is because the author is using human names, which leaves me totally lost as to who corresponds to which character and what country.**

**Kiku Honda – Japan  
Matthieu Williams – Canada  
Alfred F. Jones – America  
Kumajiro – Canada's Polar Bear (not mentioned in Ch 1, but he WAS there)**

**-~-†-~-†-~-†-†-†-~-†-~-†-~-**

Three children sprinted past Jack and out of town, completely unnoticed by the skeletal man as they scurried towards Oogie Boogie's lair.

The three children—Lock, Shock, and Barrel—were Halloween Town's local troublemakers and Oogie Boogie's trusted henchmen.

Mr. Oogie Boogie's lair was quite a ways away from the town. Set up in and beneath a large, old-looking tree, it featured a deep, trench-like moat and a pipe that twisted around it, running from the highest branches all the way down to the ground, and then further still. What looked like a large birdcage hung from one of the highest branches, hovering at the end of the unfinished bridge over the "moat."

The troublemaking trio raced each other to the tree, stumbling every so often along the way. When they arrived, Lock, their leader, turned to face his cohorts, removing the mask of his devil costume.

"Mr. Oogie Boogie wants us to go to the human world and capture some of the important people who live there. With any luck, it might weaken Jack and allow Mr. Oogie Boogie to take over Halloween," Lock whispered. "We have to work together – three of a kind, birds of a feather, now and forever."

"I'm in," Shock and Barrel declared simultaneously, neither of them hesitating.

"Okay. He wants them unharmed, so _only_ bags. Get several, Oogie will get mad if we only come back with one," Lock commanded, authority clear in his tone. "We're gonna use the trick-or-treat method."

Shock and Barrel nodded, cackling in gleeful agreement, and rushed off to gather the necessary supplies.

-~-†-†-†-~-

Meanwhile, Jack climbed the steps to his front door, waving away the sputtering mayor of Halloween Town wearily.

"We can go over the plans _tomorrow,_ Mayor. It's late, and I need some sleep," he stated firmly.

With that, he closed the door behind him, ignoring the mayor's indignant and desperate protests ("Jack, please, I'm _only_ an elected official! I can't make decisions by _myself_!") as he stalked off to his bedroom, the nagging feeling that something was missing still gnawing away at his bones. Flopping down on his bed, the exhausted skeleton man soon fell fast asleep.

-~-†-~-†-†-†-~-†-~-

Trick-or-treating hours were almost over. The movie had just ended, and Alfred had long since convinced Matthieu to stay for the night.

"I'm gonna change out of my costume and take a quick shower," Alfred informed his twin. "Could hand out candy to the trick-or-treaters, Mattie?"

Matthieu nodded, earning him a dazzling grin from Alfred. Once the older blond had left the room, Kumajiro collided with Matthieu's leg. The bear blinked up at its owner in confusion.

"Who…?" it began, asking a question Matthieu had grown used to long ago. Matthieu sighed, slightly frustrated despite (or perhaps because of) the hundreds of times Kumajiro had asked him that question.

"I'm Matthieu, Kumijari. Your owner, remember?" the teen prompted.

"Oh," Kumajiro mumbled, returning to his nice, warm spot by the fireplace. Matthieu sighed, shaking his head at his pet's forgetfulness.

At length, the silence was broken by the doorbell ringing. The trick-or-treaters had arrived.

"Coming!" Matthieu called, grabbing a bowl of candy as he rushed past. Setting the bowl down on a table conveniently placed next to the door, he swung the door open.

"Trick-or-treat!" three voices screeched in unison. Matthieu turned to see a boy in a devil costume, a boy in a skeleton costume, and a girl in a witch costume.

"Eh?"

_Swoosh!_

"Got 'im!" one voice murmured triumphantly. "Come on—we've got all night!"

The door was left to swing shut with an ominous slam.

"Hey, Matt, whaddya want for dinner?" Alfred asked, walking out of his bedroom while running a hand through his short golden locks. When no response reached his ears, he frowned. "… Matt? What do you want for dinner?"

He still didn't receive a response. Where there any reasons why Matthieu wouldn't respond? Had he fallen asleep? Was he listening to his iPod? Maybe Alfred made Matt angry enough to change his mind and go home somehow… but what had he done wrong? Alfred couldn't think of anything off the top of his head.

… Could it be that… something had happened to Matt? Was he okay? As panicked, darker thoughts raced through the American's mind and worst-case scenarios played their gruesome tricks, Alfred frantically searched the entire house.

_'I can't find anything to even indicate that Canada was ever here! If someone took him, they must be pretty good at making people disappear...'_ he thought to himself, plopping down on a chair in the kitchen and rubbing his temples.

Kumajiro chose that exact moment to walk in from the living room.

"Who are you?" the bear asked, staring at America.

"Alfred," the blonde responded automatically, thoughts too focused on Matt to register the presence of his pet for a few moments.

"Oh," Kumajiro muttered. After a brief pause, Kumajiro asks, "Where's Matthieu?"

Alfred jolted, turning to look at the bear. "I dunno. He… wouldn't leave without you, would he?" Alfred inquired nervously, praying that Canada had just left because he needed something he had left at home. "Could he have left you here because he was gonna be back soon?"

However, Kumajiro shattered Alfred's every hope when the polar bear shook his head slowly. "No, he would've taken me with in case it took longer than he expected," Kumajiro replied, beady black eyes staring blankly at the stove. "All I know is three weird kids came to the door. Canada went to answer and never came back."

"Weird…" Alfred murmured, wondering where Matt could have gone after he answered the door.

-~-†-†-†-~-

Meanwhile, across the Pacific Ocean, Kiku Honda sat calmly in a comfortable armchair, rereading one of his favorite books. A knock at the door dragged him forcefully from the novel in his hand, leaving the Japanese teen to glance at the clock in confusion.

"It's rather late. Why would anyone visit at this hour?" he mused aloud. Despite his instincts' persistently telling him that he _really_ shouldn't open the door, Japan decided to answer it anyway.

"Trick-or-treat!" a trio of harshly-screeching voices chorused. Kiku's eyes widened as they settled on the three children at his door—a devil, a witch, and a skeleton.

**-~-†-~-†-~-†-†-†-~-†-~-†-~-**

**DUN-DUN-DUN~~! Cliffhanger! Will Kiku get away, or will he be captured as well?** ***evil grin***

**Well, you know if you've read this before… but whatever. For new readers, it's a cliffie.**

**And now, a message from my (totally awesome) Beta~!**

**Beta's Note: Hi you guys! I'm Kaito X Len - Banana Split, Xion's beta. There's a lot to say about Xion. First of all, she's AWESOMELY EPICTASTICAL. Number two, SO IS HER WRITING. I had, like, NOTHING to fix. :) And my writing looks like my seven-year-old brother's writing compared to hers. So, please enjoy, and I will personally kick your ass if you flame. So don't.**

**A/N: Aw, thanks, Austria-san! (Don't believe everything she says—she's a pretty good writer herself [way better than any seven-year-old, even {if not especially} compared to my writing].)**

**Anyway, that aside… Happy Thanksgiving to you all!**


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